Electrical railway system



(No Model.)

4 W. B. PURVIS. ELECTRICAL RAILWAY SYSTEM. No. 588,176. Patented Aug. 17,1897.

ATTORNEY.

- lllll|||lllllll||lllllllll UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

WILLIAM B. PURVIS, or PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA.

ELECTRICAL RAILWAY SYSTEM.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 588,176, dated August 17, 1897.

4 Application filed June 29, 1896. Serial No. 597,333. (No model.)

To aZZ whom it may concern: 7

Be it known that 1, WILLIAM B. PURVIS, a citizen of the United States, residing in the city and county of Philadelphia, State of wire employed, means bein f urther provided for breaking the electrical connection after the car has passed each contact device,.all as will be hereinafter set forth, and specifically set out in the claim.

Figure 1 represents a side elevation of an electric railroad embodying my invention, a portion thereof being shown in section. Fig. 2 represents a vertical transverse section on line 00 00, Fig. 1. Fig. 3 represents a view similar to Fig. 2, but showing slightly-modified construction of contact device. Fig. 4 represents a vertical transverse section showing a modified construction of devices for conducting the electricity from a plurality of auxiliary feed-wires to a single feed-wire.

Similar letters refer to corresponding parts in the several figures Referring to the drawings, A designates a car which is provided with the trucks B and; the wheels 0, having the axles D and the other appurtcnances,all of the usual construction.

E designates a yielding or resilient contact-strip of metal, which is attached to a suitable portion of the car, said strip being of course suitably insulated therefrom and having the connection E therefrom. to the car-motor E from which latter leads the connection E to the ground through the me dium of the car-axle D or the equivalent elements.

F designates the conduit employed, the

same having the top F and the depending sides F, the conduit thus being open at its bottom, so as to allow the escape of water, moisture, 850., therefrom.

Gdesignates a series of lugs or supports which are attached to the interior of the conduit at suitable intervals for the purpose of sustaining the feeder or conductor H, which is provided with suitable insulation J. K.

In Fig. 3 the construction is substantially the same as that already described, except that a roller or wheel Q is employed upon the pin L in place of the head M, the stationary contact K remaining unchanged.

In Fig. 4 the principle of my invention is the same, the movable contact-pin and the diaphragm remaining unchanged. A plurality of auxiliary feed-wires R are employed, which are supported in suitable hangers or brackets attached to the inner walls of the conduit F, said auxiliary feed-wires having conductors leading therefrom to the main conductor or feeder 'l, which is supported in any suitable manner at the proper distance from the extremity of the pin or movable contact L. The operation is as follows: Ihe pins or contacts L are placed in their diaphragms at suitable distances apart from each other, which should be less than the length of a car, and the resilient strip E is adjusted so that the said pins L will be depressed when the strip E contacts therewith, as indicated in Fig. 1, during the'progress of the car, thereby forming an electrical connection between the movable contacts L and the stationary contacts K or the feeder T, as the case may be. As the car progresses it will be apparent that as the resilient contact-strip E moves away from each head or roller Q the latter will resume the position-seen in Figs. 2 to 4, inclusive, by reason of the resiliency of the diaphragm N, the electrical connection being thus effectively broken in every instance after the progression of the car, and it being of course apparent that the electricity is taken from the contact-strip E to the car-motor E by the connection E, and thence from the motor to the ground through the medium of the conductor E The operation of the modification seen in Fig. 3 is substantially the same as above described, the roller Q tending to minimize the friction arising from the contact with the strip E.

The operation of the modification seen in Fig. & will be apparent without further explanation, the conductor T taking the place of the stationary pins or contacts K.

It will of course be apparent that changes may be made by those skilled in the art which will come Within the scope of my invention, and I do not therefore desire to be limited in every instance to the exact construction I have herein shown and described.

JOHN A. WIEDERsHEIM, WM. 0. WIEDERsHEnL. 

